Syringe assembly



1949 M. L. LOCKHART 0,

SYRINGE ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 23, 1947 INVENTOR.

flarsfia/l Z Zar/fkar/ BY, MM

,4 TTOIPA/EYS Patented Dec. 6, 1949 inn-Iran sta es harem easin .rSXRINGE ASSEMBLY iMarshaWLLLockhart;Rutherford, NIJ. erkpplicationnanuany 23, 1947; Serial blunt-23ml? v 'LIGlaim. (Cl..128-+.220)

iIhis invention :relates -.:to .a xgstructurally wand :ifimctionallyr improved :syringe siassemhly-cof the diypodermicctitpezandsespeciallytaneassembly such as:issgeneradly describeiirarrd illustrated in. my

inner United :States: Patent 52,4 1-0 ;35,1.of\ 0ctober .i'It is 72.11; object :of the: inventionwto ifurnish :an assembly of this type and'dn:Which+if-desiredtheipartstmay onlylbeiu'sedfor a single injection, after which they must be discarded. Such an assembly is especiallydesirable in connection with some types .of injections. and. the use of medicaments having certain characteristics.

A further object is that of 'furni'shinga syringe assembly in whichquite 11 independently of a one-time use as set forth in the preceding laaragraph-a cartridge or ampule of aasingle iended-type may be employed. .In suchsemployment, the operator will have the assurance that a complete discharge of the contained medicament will be-effected from the-cartridge.

Still another obj ect thatz-oi designing-iastructure such that should a reuse of the syringe be desired, then the discharged ampule or cartridge may be removed from association with the syringe;

Another object is that of providing a structure which will guard against danger of cartridge or ampule breakage even if excessive thrust has to be employed to assure a dispensing of the injection.

An additional object is that of designing a layout of apparatus, the individual parts of which will be relatively rugged and capable of manufacture by quantity production methods so that the cost of the assembly will be capable of being maintained at a relatively low figure.

With these and other obj ects in mind, reference is had to the attached sheet of drawings illustrating practical embodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side view of a holder or syringe;

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a cartridge or ampule;

Fig. 3 shows the holder and ampule in cooperating relationship;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing an alternative proportioning of the holder parts and an operating element used in conjunction with the cartridge or ampule;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of such a cartridge; and

Fig. 6 is a similar view of a desirable form of operating element.

Referring primarily to Fig. 1, there has been illustrated a holder or syringe which conveniently :2 .includesvaibarrelzzor body: I i] having a. closedend wall 1 I. l Mind-71f desired-outstanding fingerengaging portions or wings 1'2. Disposed centrally ..;of this body-.--and extending through the fend Wall l I 'isia: needle; t3,.-;bothendsrof-. which-are sharpened. A thrust portion- Hiis concentrically dis- .posed with-respect to=theinneraend .of the needle. iThis thrust-portion;- is. shorter than the inner. end :of the 2 needle so :that the latter extends beyond .the-same.

In -F;lg.-;2:an .ampule-hasbeen. illustrated .which includes abody =l.5:-.ponven-iently formed. of 7 glass.

-.One ;end-of this body is.-.close.d bytan. end'.wall.l.6.

:The opposite end ofisuchcbodyt is sealedbya stopx1961 l l-zsoas; tosretain: the: containedrmedicamcn alt.willebe'observedzthat. the overall-length .ofthe .vampule or -:cartridge body issubsta-ntially equi- JVEtlCIltStOOI .evemlessthanthe zdepth of the body or holder 10. Also-.itwvill .b.e..noted..that .only-a sing-1e compartmentisincorponated in the .ampule tor-.cantridge i-in the. device as. illustrated.

.It .is apparent that ,if an .injection is .to .be

achieved, thenthe stopper ,endbfflthe ampule may .be; inserted intdthebore .of; the body i it to a point where the needleisin contact'with. 0r"has penetrated the end wall of the stopper an'd'has entered the bore 18 thereof. At the same time the outer end of the needle I3 may be caused to penetrate the skin and underlying tissue. Thereupon, by applying pressure against the end wall 56 of the ampule, the latter is projected into the bore of the holder [0. With such projection, the thrust portion [4 will engage the end of the stopper and shift the same rearwardly Within the cartridge or ampule. Therefore, the medicament contained within the latter will be ejected through the bore of the needle. Continued projection of the ampule will result in the parts reaching the positions illustrated in Fig. 3.

In that view it will be observed that substantially all of the medicament has been ejected from the cartridge. The latter will now occupy a position wholly within the bore of the holder. It will be retained in that position by virtue of the frictional contact between the stopper body and the needle. Obviously, it will be difficult if not impossible to withdraw the cartridge from such position. This will be increasingly true according to the degree of projection of the ampule. Therefore, with such proportioning of the parts a structure is furnished which will only have a onetime use. After such use, it will be discarded.

Next referring to Fig. 6, an actuating element has been shown which conveniently includes a head or thumb engaging portion is and a reduced body 20. The latter may conveniently be formed of metal having resilient characteristics. If desired, slits 2] may be formed in the cylindrical body 20 so as to provide yielding gripping portions. Accordingly, even if ampules vary slightly in diameter, they may be accommodated within the body 29. The base of the bore defined by that body may have a plug or layer 22 of yielding material disposed upon it.

In certain instances it has been found that excessive pressures must be employed to effect a dispensing of the injection. This is especially true where the medicament is a relatively heavy fluid. In such cases and if the ampule be constructed of a rupturable material such as glass, then there is always danger that this cartridge may burst. As will be understood with an actuating element such as 20, the walls of the cartridge will be reinforced to prevent this brusting.

If, nevertheless, such a result should obtain, then the operator will not be injured nor will the medicament be likely to come into contact with garments.

Additionally and quite aside from any accidental breaking or bursting, it will be practicable to withdraw the ampule or cartridge from the holder as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. Thus, assuming that it is desired to reuse the syringe assembly, this will be feasible even if the cartridge or ampule has been fully discharged. In

other words, in such event the operator may, either prior to the application of the cartridge with the syringe or even after the discharge of the medicament, associate the actuating element 20 therewith. The engagement between this ele- What I claim is:

A syringe assembly including in combination an ampule comprising a tubular body, a wall at the outer end of said body, a stopper initially disposed adjacent the inner end of said body to retain medicament therein, a tubular holder open at one end to receive therethrough the inner end and body of the ampule, a wall closing the opposite end of said holder, a double ended needle extending through said wall, a thrust portion also extending from said wall and of a height less than the adjacent needle end and terminating from the open end of said holder a distance at least equal to the length of said stopper, the length of said ampule being not in excess of the depth of said holder whereby, with pressure exerted by the thumb against the outer wall of the ampule body, the latter may be projected within said holder to a point where the ampule is contained within said holder and an actuating element insertible through the open end of said holder into telescopic relationship with respect to the end of the ampule body, said actuator comprising a tubular body of a diameter such that the ampule may be received therein and said body being formed with slits to incorporate yieldinglygripping portions aligned and in contact with the outer face of said ampule.

MARSHALL L. LOCKHART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,843,711 Hall Mar. 8, 1932 2,175,365 Saflir Oct. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 17,069 Great Britain Of 1909 

